Mouth

"Bestiary meets The Dangers of Smoking in Bed." Say no more. I'm sold!

This is a great collection of short stories. The prose is beautiful and with each sentence I never knew what was coming next. And I love that. I also love the titles of all these stories.

I'd definitely recommend this collection to fans of Ottessa Moshfegh or Hiromi Kawakami, because the stories and writing reminded me of them at times. I've never read this author before but now I'll read literally anything she writes.

Here are my reviews for each story and a rating out of 10.

Desiccation 9/10
I liked the pacing of this story, and how all the different elements were balanced. The world building felt unobtrusive. I liked the backdrop of ice skating competitions. I love how the story is subtle even though it's very visceral and surreal.

The Fig Tree 5/10
I think I might have read this at the wrong time. I was a bit unfocused and maybe thats why I was a bit bored at parts of this story. I liked the descriptions of the environment and themes of grief.

Leaving Things 10/10
WOW! Wolf short stories are a bit of a cliche, but this story is very unique and well done. I loved the opening scene. The story has a good balance of internal and external conflict/stakes. Usually I prefer shorter stories but this was an exception. This was excellent.

K 8/10
I found the main character to be very unhinged but in a good way, in an interesting way. It could have been a bit shorter I think.

In the Winter 10/10
This was really good. I love a short and sweet story that is very sure of itself. It's the kind of story you can read many times and glean more from it with each read.

Anomaly 9/10
There's a lot to take in at the beginning of this story, and I was a bit overwhelmed, but it pays off nicely. Dystopian-ish short stories aren't usually my favourite but I'm so impressed by the world the author created here. She's very talented.

Lemon Boy 9/10
The character voice is really strong. I loved the party setting. This was just really interesting and unique.

Supergiant 8/10
I loved the second half of this story a lot more than the first half. The author is really good at creating worlds. It's not easy for short stories.

Nip 9/10
Again, I love a brief story. This was wacky in the best way possible.

Natalya 10/10
WOW! This was crazy good. Like it's leagues above all the other stories in this collection so far and that's saying something because they've all been amazing.
This story is so special. It's one of those stories that shows just how awesome short fiction can be, and pushes it's limits and creates something amazing. The prose really shines in this story. It was noticeably much stronger than in some of the other stories. There's a lot of flashbacks, an unconventional amount, but it worked so well and felt natural, and it wasn't jarring at all. The author pulled it off so well. This is officially an all time favourite short story.

Persimmons 7/10
This is a good story. For some reason I just struggled to want to read it. There are some super cool paragraphs and imagery in here. I liked the ending.

A NetGalley ARC review

If I could give this book 100 stars, I would. I had a fantastic time with these weird, horrifying short stories, that feature (sometimes) far too relatable characters dealing with loneliness and isolation. The prose was stunning and had me highlighting like crazy. I look forward to anything Puloma Ghosh writes in the future and will absolutely be picking up a hard cover to annotate when it releases . I don't even have the words for a long review because I have no criticism, this was perfect.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. This book was such a fun collection of weird and horrifying stories that were so entertaining. Not one was dull and the characters were all so fleshed out and crafted extremely well. The prose was beautiful and precise. A great collection of short stories, 5/5 stars.

4.25 stars

Okay. I loved this. I truly did. Each story could have been longer to be honest and I would have eaten it up lol

Desiccation - 4/5 - what an opening!

The Fig Tree - 2/5 didnt love this one as thst opener but well written

Leaving Things - 5/5?????? Looooool I loved this. Damn I'd honestly read a full story of it.
K - 4/5?? Or 3.75?? I wonna know more. I wonn know wtf went on
In the Winter - same as above but maybe 4 because despite it being the shortest so far, I wonna know what the hell he was and what happened
Anomaly - 3/5 all of these could be an episode of Black Mirror but this one specifically felt like an episode.
Lemon Boy - same as above with the Black Mirror feeling 3.25 /5
Supergiant - 2/5???
Nip - this was a trip lol I reread it twice lol maybe 3.75??
Natalya - not my fave 2/5
Persimmons - 2.25/5

Overall the writing I adored. I loved how each story had something shocking, sad, disturbing, you name it, I'm so so so happy to have went for this to review. Wow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review

What a spectacular debut... Puloma Ghosh's Mouth is a collection of eleven genre-defying, poignant stories each connected by literal and metaphorical references to mouths. Although none of the stories take place in the world we know (there's always a surreal twist), each piece feels resoundingly familiar. Ghosh is able to go for the jugular, assessing the affect of the times with frightening clarity. Every story touches on what it means to experience loss, alienation, and loneliness—feelings that I know many of us can relate to, especially after the global pandemic.

In one story, a girl grapples with her place in the world after the government commandeers every man over the age of eighteen while she falls for a fellow figure skater with an appetite for rats. In another, a yellow-haired boy recounts the death of his girlfriend, her presence at a party, and the curious appearance of holes. In yet another, a woman decides to remain in a city on the brink of collapse as it becomes overrun by wolves.

Ghosh's stories are engaging, sapphic, creative, bizarre, and (at times) darkly humorous. The author's literary prowess is clear. All the stories compliment one another well and help illuminate aspects of one another. I read the collection in a single sitting. Reading these stories scratched an itch that I didn't know I had, I can't recommend it enough. Mark your calendars!

Thank you to Astra Publishing House and Netgalley for a chance to review the ARC!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzaQUc4rTn-/?igshid=MXJsbGk4bG5xNWxwcw==

"Mouth" is unlike anything I've read. As soon as I finished I wanted to reread it. All of the stories are grounded in reality but have supernatural/sci-fi elements. All of the stories had me asking myself "what the hell just happened?", but in the best way! The stories are bizarre, horrific, sometimes sad, and always beautiful. My favorite stories were "Desiccation", "Leaving Things", "K", "Anomaly", "Nip", and "Natalya".

I especially loved that many of the stories were queer. The stories are grounded so much in the queer experience and Ghosh beautifully and uniquely presented it in all its pain and all it's glory.

Do yourself and favor and give "Mouth" a chance. I admit that this book may not be for everyone but I think if you take the time to sit with each story you will find the beauty in all of them.

Puloma Ghosh's "Mouth" comprises eleven stories that defy genres, each intricately linked by both literal and metaphorical references to mouths. While none of the narratives unfolds in our familiar reality—each bearing a surreal twist—there's an underlying resonance in every piece. Ghosh fearlessly delves into the essence of our times, offering a chillingly clear assessment of its impact. The stories, though otherworldly, explore universal themes of loss, alienation, and loneliness, emotions that many of us can deeply connect with, especially in the aftermath of the global pandemic.

Ghosh's stories are not only engaging but also richly creative, bizarre, and occasionally darkly humorous. The author's literary prowess shines through, and the stories complement each other seamlessly, shedding light on various facets. I devoured the entire collection in one sitting; reading these stories scratched an itch I didn't know I had and got me out of a really bad reading slump.

I wholeheartedly recommend it

I love a weird book and this one definitely hit the mark. There was not a single one of the short stories that I didn't enjoy. Bizarre, spooky, funny, disturbing, a great debut collection, and a pleasure to read. Looking forward to what comes next from Puloma Ghosh!

This collection is SO right up my street, I think I have found a new favourite/auto-buy author? And that based on her debut?? Incredible. And finding a short story collection in which I *love* and the rest which I really enjoyed too, is like finding a pair of shoes that fit your feet perfectly. Walking on air.

Mouth is a collection of stories in various styles: ontemporary fiction with some heavy subjects that are dealt with beautifully, mystery, horror, intrigue, suspense, dystopia, science fiction - and all of it in short stories that are so elegantly composed that you get lost in them within sentences, and resurface with a feeling of amazement and wonder. Also: (some of) this shit is so weiiiird. Exactly the kind of weird that floats my literary boat.

Favourite stories (in order of appearance)
🌳 The Fig Tree
Touches upon grief, displacement and otherness so beautifully. I was transported and found myself moved by her journey, and I lovewd the mythological aspects.

🐺 Leaving Things
Intriguing! Dystoping! Transformative! I am obsessed with this story and the wolfish element in it, that had a surprising turn of events.

🎓 K
I was terrified reading this story and I was happy it was done but also so impressed with how scared I got over a short story.

🕥 Anomaly
This reminded me a lot of Loki (which I am currently in the middle of season 2 of) so needless to say I loved the dystopian/timeline narrative and g(h)osh does she write well to create a whole new world and make it so incredibly easy to get into in a short story???

🍹 Lemon Boy
I was as obsessed with the whole holes thing as they were.

📓 Natalya
This was EXQUISITE. Favourite story of the collection.

If I haven't convinced you to pre-order this book and keep an eye out for this author, I urge you to do so.

Weird queer short stories! We love weird queer short stories! And these short stories were very good, and very weird, and very queer.

MOUTH is a beautifully done debut collection from an author to watch, full of stories which danced between literary fiction, speculative fiction, and horror with grace and style. I didn’t connect with every story, but I found a lot to appreciate even in the ones which didn’t make my “favorites” list. Ghosh's writing is beautiful; the stories are inventive and gorgeously crafted, the characters are compelling and layered, and every story had its own unique and extremely evocative atmosphere.

My personal top three stories: “Supergiant,” “Natalya,” and “The Fig Tree.” Highly recommended, and Ghosh is most definitely an author to watch.

Thank you so much to Astra House and Netgalley for the advance copy!

I recently read Mouth by Puloma Ghosh and was completely blown away by the author's writing style. In her debut collection, Ghosh uses speculative fiction to push the boundaries of reality and explore complex themes such as grief, intimacy, sexuality, and bodily autonomy.

One of the things I loved most about this book is the way the author blends the bizarre and absurd with the truth. Each story in the collection is unique and captivating in its own way. For instance, in "Dessication," a teen figure skater with necrophiliac tendencies is convinced that the only other Indian girl at the rink is a vampire. In "The Fig Tree," a woman returns to Kolkata and is haunted by her deceased mother or a shakchunni, or both. While in "Persimmons," a girl comes to terms with her own community sacrifice.

The surrealism in Mouth is both intriguing and captivating. Ghosh's writing style is sharp, vivid, and wholly original. She blurs the lines between conventional reality and the otherworldly, giving fangs, talons, and singular sharpness to the otherwise ordinary, awkward, and unmentionable. The author's exploration of the everyday struggles of isolation, longing, and the aching desires of our flesh is both poignant and thought-provoking.

Overall, Mouth is an excellent debut collection that showcases Puloma Ghosh's unique voice and imaginative storytelling. The book is a must-read for fans of speculative fiction and those who appreciate writing that is both daring and original. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a surreal and thought-provoking read.

Thank you NetGalley so much for the arc!!!

I went into this collection without really knowing what I'll encounter, but I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked the prose, the concept of the stories and not knowing what will come next. I liked the skillful way Puloma Ghosh used dark humor and body parts and fluids in her stories to reach the most inner emotions of the reader.

A pleasant surprise and I will be picking up more Ghosh in the future, can wait to see what will come next!

Puloma Ghosh weaves several haunting tales in her first book, Mouth. Each story, whilst separate, is connected by the key theme - body horror - or more specifically - mouths. The stories range from speculative to bizarre, each provoking thoughtful questions, and cover topics such as vampirism, existentialism, self and other.

My favourite of the bunch was the second, Leaving Things, and I wish there was more of it to read. Each of the stories could be made into a novel and I would read (and adore) every single one. Ghosh’s use of language was very refreshing and would love to read more from her in the future.

An incredible debut book.

3.75/5 stars

Short stories have a tendency to leave me wanting more because they don’t feel fully fleshed out. Puloma Ghosh does not suffer from this problem, even the shortest of the stories included gives you a complete idea of the world it’s set in. The prose is beautiful, and leave you feeling intrigued. You want for more, not because the writing was lacking but because the story is so interesting you don’t want to leave it yet.

The lowest I would rate any of the eleven stories would be an 8/10… however most are 9s or 10s.

My favorite stores are Desiccation, The Fig Tree, & Leaving Things.

Desiccation is set in a dystopian world, where there is an unseen war and government whisking everyone away… but also a girl who may just be a vampire.

The Fig Tree follows our lead going back to her homeland after her mother dies, feeling disconnected from her family but confronting a spirit at her old home.

Leaving Things is wild ride from start to finish. Wolves are dragging off the women of her small town, and yet when our lead finds a dying pregnant wolf she attempts to save her. The wolf dies but cuts at the belly to save the baby, only to remove a human baby. She decides to raise him.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this not knowing what to expect, and I was surprised! I actually really enjoyed this. The stories in this range from existentialism, to stories covering the topic of the self, a plethora of questions most times quite bizarre in nature, and even vampirism. It was a very fascinating read I highly recommend!

Listen, if you had told me I would be intrigued by a book full of short stories that all shared the theme pf consumption would make me feel absolutely insane, I would’ve believed you. I mean, you did read that, right? there is absolutely no way I could’ve escaped this book, even if I wanted to.


“Mouth” by Puloma Ghosh had me wrapped around its finger, with stories set in different worlds, none of them the same as ours. In one, we learn about a woman living in a town that it’s been killed by wolves. In another, a man shares the story of the death of his girlfriend, and the weird appearance of of holes in his life. All stories in this book are correlated to theme of being consumed and consume in return, and although they do not happen in our world and there is always something supernatural going on, it manages to connect with us through things that all of us humans go through: loneliness, finding our own place in the world, heartbreak and grieve.

There is no part of me that expected this to be THIS good. Not only was it fascinating, it was also a very fun and quick read. It made me anxious to see what Puloma has to offer us, and excited for what’s coming next from her. I can’t wait!

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

I am blown away. This is an absolutely incredible collection of short stories. And it's a debut?! It is so well written and captivating. It is weird and unusual but in the best ways. I can't wait to read more from this author!! I'm so thrilled to have read this. Thank you, NetGalley, for the copy to review.

An amazing short story collection! With human sacrifices, autopsies of ex lovers and humanoid creatures this collection ranged from creepy, to funny, to sad, to strange. Really impressive debut and I will definitely be checking out the authors future work as well.

My favorite short story collection I've read this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Astra House for the ARC

Mouth - story individual rankings
Desiccation
- hot ! five stars

The fig tree
- fun ghosts, slow pace. my Engl profs would love teaching this one, and I think I’d like it more in discussion

Leaving things
- Marie de France would be proud with how the Bisclavret tradition has become
- Also Freud
- My favie so far

K
- “be careful with words that aren’t yours”
- ending was yummy, the narrator was kind of flat and sour

In the winter
-

Anomaly
- confusing, “romantic?,” can absolutely see this happening.

Lemon boy
- Good story,, weird ending? Could’ve been more conclusive imo

Supergiant
- sexual, but in a clinical way. It’s easy to find meaning in a love curated for the shell of your old self

Nip
- I’m not so sure abt this one. A little too abstract, but beautiful nonetheless

Natalya
- Obsessed with this form of an autopsy report amongst lovers

Persimmons
- EAT

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC to review!
All the stories were deliciously eloquent and there was a substantial amount of twists through that blew my mind. These stories are engaging and morbidly humorous and I simply couldn’t get enough. As i’m writing this review, each one of these stories are on the top of my mind and I don’t think I will be able to forget them.

Short stories tend to be a harder sell for me - by the time I find myself invested it usually ends and leaves me questioning the point. The author does an incredible job here of fully fleshing out entire worlds within each of the stories, creating surreal backdrops for bizarre things to happen that still feel familiar and even make sense in twisted ways. I loved the common theme of devouring and being devoured in return present throughout each story, and they were all distinctive while remaining cohesive. This is a collection that I think will stay with me, and I’m excited to see what’s next from the author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC!

This was such an amazing short story collection. The writing was beautiful and lyrical - I highlighted so many quotes that really resonated with me. Each story was unique but there were similar themes of love, grief and of course mouths. I loved how each story was set in a world similar yet different to our own. It was surreal, weird and sometimes sad but I absolutely loved reading it.

My favourite stories were:
The Fig Tree - A great display of grief. Tender but with a sliver of weirdness too.
Anomaly - Such an interesting concept and beautifully told.
Natayla - I loved how it was told as an autopsy report. Heartbreaking.

I cannot recommend this enough!

What a debut! This short story collection is for all those who love the absurd and bizarre.
It's very impressive how eloquent each single story was and how atmospheric they were. I would definitely read something by the author again.

A stunning short story collection! Fantastic world building and characterization, something that always feels impossible to pull off in a short story but Ghosh makes it look breezy. Every story felt new and fresh while the collection still felt like a whole piece.

My only complaint is that a few of the stories would have benefited from a longer length. Because these stories have are so rich in world building, the short lengths made the stories feel more like ideas. I think some of these stories could be incredible novellas or even full-length novels.

Very strong collection overall and I’m so excited to follow Ghosh’s career.

What an INCREDIBLE short story collection and debut author! I don't give out such compliments lightly, but Puloma Ghosh to me is on the same level as Han Kang, Otessa Moshfegh and Lisa Taddeo when it comes to writing raw, poignant, relatable and hard-hitting stories.

I loved all of these stories, though my absolute favorites were the fig tree (it perfectly captures what it feels like to be grieving and to feel disconnected from your home town), leaving things (it reminded me of The Vegetarian by Han Kang and this is the biggest compliment I can give a book honestly), supergiant (how unique!), anomaly (one of the coolest stories I have ever read, blew me away, pure perfection), & Natalya.

I will gush about this book for the rest of the year OMG!

hooooly moly, new fav alert!!!

I was utterly obsessed w/ this collection of stories. these stories were dark, weird, captivating, sapphic and surreal. I kept being so satisfied with each story, waiting to lose interest as the stories progressed, and I never did! I loved the topics explored, a lot of magical realism, grief, heartache, and dystopian themes. seriously devoured this and will devour anything else ghosh puts out into the world. a seriously incredible debut <3

thank you net galley and astra house! I will be thinking + talking about this one for a while.

I included this wonderful collection in a round-up article on books I am looking forward to in 2024 at Michigan Quarterly Review. Here is what I wrote about it:

"Beautiful and unsettling, creepy and so deeply human: this collection delights with the unexpected, in the gorgeous prose, in the unbound imagination in the stories, and in the formal play. It presents us with ghosts, bottled infatuation, teen figure skaters with a necrophilic bend, and a story in the form of an autopsy report. All while interrogating lies, truth, and what is real in the vivid description that brings the world Ghosh creates alive."

I don’t normally tend to gravitate towards short stories and I find myself asking questions and not getting into the story by the time it ends but these 11 short stories all felt very fleshed out and descriptive. These were all creepy, dystopian and captivating in the best way and I’ll definitely be reading future work by this author!

Each story in Puloma Ghosh's debut, Mouth, gnawes its way to your brain with its sharp teeth of prose. Sucking you into its dark holes of worlds. Worlds that are a little too bizarre but modernly original. In Natalya, you intimately dissect her cadaver, her warmth once memorized. In Persimmons, you witness a martyr's welcoming embrace for the state of ruination. A dystopia awaits in Leaving Things, raising a boy wolf into a man. These are just three of the eleven mouth-watering stories of surrealism, queerness, grief, and sometimes ambiguous loss. Truly a feast of tangy endings.

I loved this collection of strange, often horrifying stories. Each was immensely enjoyable, and I felt drawn into the worlds immediately. If I could think of a connecting thread it would perhaps be loneliness? Though in their strangeness alone there's a connection there. These were great, and I'll read anything Ghosh writes next.

Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley!

THIS. OMG. THIS. I am forever grateful to Astra House Publishing for sending me an advanced copy of Mouth: Stories before it hits shelves on June 11, 2024. I know this is a ways away, but yall need to have like pre-ordered this one YESTERDAY or something because, HOLY FRIGGIN CRAP, that was amazing.

This is Puloma Ghosh's first novel, but you'd hardly be able to tell because the writing is so exquisitely scrumptious, leaving me craving more after every story. There were narratives of all shapes and sizes, covering most sapphic angles and breaching into monstrous territories. Overall, there were continuous themes of Body Horror, and I just ate these stories up. From sacrificial persimmon trees taking first-born daughters, to ghosts of roommates' past coming for a visit, and even vampiric figure skaters taking what they're owed... there's something here for everyone.

PRE-ORDER IT NOW!

Love that we are getting more weird girl fiction. Every short story is odd, unsettling, and bizarre. Some involved beautiful exploration of vampires, sapphic love, and dystopian I love the way Puloma Ghosh writes about grief, sexuality, and mothering, I found myself re-reading some of the hauntingly beautiful stories in the novel like "Leaving Things" and "K". I can't wait to own the physical copy.
Thank you Netgalley and Astra house. It was a privilege to read this.

Thank you Netgalley and Astra publishing for ARC in exchange of an honest review.



Mouth

11 Stories by Puloma Ghosh

- **Dessication**

> Ma always told me we had to accept the logic of the world we were given and learn to live in it. Maybe she would have let that logic swallow me like it swallowed my father, his warm hands, the buttons on his cuffs that were once larger than my fingernails.
>
> Our world shrank, but after the initial shock and a few transi-tional years, most people in our town became comfortable. If there was unrest anywhere, we couldn’t see it. Some even argued things became better for women, as the world was seldom good to them before, but that might have been propaganda fed to us by the Bureau. Even as a child, I wondered what was “good” about being left behind.
>

Story of Meghana, an Indian girl in foreign country who's asked by her mother to befriend another Indian girl, Pritha. Pritha is well, something totally unbelievable.

- **The fig tree**

> Ankita sees how a room can be oppressive, how idleness can be hypnotic.
>

Story of a grieving woman Ankita, who comes back to her country for her mother's last burial rituals but Haunted by something beyond her imagination.

- **Leaving things**

> I was born only to become my mother’s silhouette against the oval window of our front door, watching another man walk away.
>

This is story of a vet doc who is living in a small town which has been emptied under government orders as something sinister is happening but she choses to stay and comes across something which is beyond anyone's imagination. This is kind of a story that I will always remember.

- **K**

> There’s a truth, no matter how buried, no matter how many better, more appetizing truths have been spun around it.
>

> I learned the best lies are half- truths.
>

A young girl, an apparition of another girl K that appears in her room often. In her dreams too. There's a mystery and there's something strange that marks the end of the story. Another story which made an impact on me.

- **In the winter**

> In the winter I’m pretty because the loneliness makes my face slack, my eyes intense. There are no stories without loneliness.
>

Is this a werewolf story?? I think it is. Short yet powerful.

- **Anomaly**

> Predictably, humanity couldn’t invent anything without fucking up the environment and commodifying what was left.
>

> You would think the introduction of time travel and extratemporal diplomats and stealthy timeline disrupting agents would give every one a new perspective on life. Our species was allegedly on the cusp of evolution, spies sweeping in from other timelines to influence us, but people were still as corny and boring as ever.
>

This story felt like a black mirror sci fi. If you want to enter anomaly you might come across someone you don't want to but in reality you want to like a confrontation with a dead ex lover.

- **Lemon boy**

> There was something horrific about facing a party alone. It made you both invisible and vulnerable at once.
>

Do you see holes around you? I started seeing few after reading this story.

- **Supergiants**

> Even if I showed up at my own mother’s door, she wouldn’t recognize me. There’s barely anything left of the person who grew in her womb, just a bit of organ tissue, a few nerve endings. I’m so utterly free it’s paralyzing.
>

A popular celebrity but what they lost in the process nobody really knows. There's always a cost for everything.

- **Nip**

> “Colors can feel; that’s why they make us feel. If I love a color enough, it can love me back.”
>

This might be the hardest story to explain. Where to even start? There's something totally unexplainable about this story. I have no words. A story of what complete overt obsession can result into.

- **Natalya**

> “You can’t choose the things you remember, The important things will find you.”
>

> I don’t know if I loved you, yet you linger within me like an appari-tion.
>

> You have to be afraid to live.
>

One of the stories which I liked the most. The protagonist is suicidal, currently performing an autopsy on someone he had relationships in the past - an ex- lover.

- **Persimmons**

> Uma always thought fate was a choice.
>

There's a tree, there's a girl and there's a purpose until only one remains. It is about a girl's coming to terms with what society expects from her.

The stories are eerie, absurd and allegorical and leave an everlasting impression on reader's mind. I would not recommend it to everyone although I totally enjoyed reading them. They have a shock factor as well as some gore which many readers can find uncomfortable to read. In all stories the reality is stretched beyond imagination, the creatures like vampires, werewolves and some even that I'm not able to explain are given life. These short stories explore sexuality, grief and happiness, isolation and loneliness and longing to be with someone you loved and even necrophilia.

Highly recommended who like this kind of gore subjects.

My mind is blown over this incredible debut collection of weird horror! I only wish I had read it with a friend or two to talk out each story, share reactions to the awesome connections and explore the surreal vibes!

The writing is hypnotic and captivating. The relationships between the 11 stories are secretly flawless. Mouths: stories is an instant favourite. Fans of Julia Armfield will love this!

Picking favourites felt easy at first but when I went back to quickly review them, I realized how incredible each of them are for different reasons.

My 5 ⭐️ favs are; Lemon Boy, K, Leaving Things, Natalya and The Fig Tree.

I didn’t know Puloma Ghosh at all before picking this book on Netgalley, I was just intrigued by the cover art. This “strategy” has sometimes backfired for me in the past, but this time it didn’t. Intriguing might be the right word for the whole collection, because each of the stories was unexpected and strange in some wayd.

Sometimes it’s an alternative world or a dystopia, sometimes it goes into horror territory. It’s often dark, almost always weird. It reminded me of Kelly Link’s stories, but I must confess it’s been a while since I read Link. Ghosh is a young Indian-born American woman, and some stories allude to immigrant experience or travel back to India, but it’s not the main point of these stories.

I enjoyed Leaving things most, as it starts in a town that inhabitants are slowly deserting because of a dark menace around wolves. It’s maybe a werewolf story, but it would be too easy to classify it only like that. Another story I loved is Lemon Boy, a boy that the narrator meets at a party and who tells her about strange holes where people disappear. The Fig Tree is a slightly more traditional haunting story of a young girl who recently lost her mother and is traveling to her native country with her father. The first story of the collection, Desiccation, took me a while to get into, because at first you’d think it’s a realist story of an immigrant girl who is supposed to befriend the only other immigrant girl in town, except that the second girl is… let’s just say uncanny to not spoil anything? and the town they live in is in a world without any adult men.

All stories are very atmospheric, but sometimes I found that what was supposed to happen was a bit too vague for me. It’s been a while I was looking for the right reference that this collection reminded me of, and I finally got it: 2 years ago I read Life Ceremony, a collection of weird short stories by Sayaka Murata. Although Murata’s stories are precise in a very Japanese way, they both share something of surreal mixed with horror. I’m glad I discovered Ghosh and would gladly read other stories by her.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book for review consideration.

I loved every story in Mouth, this debut novel of short stories. That rarely happens with me. I appreciate that not every one will be for me but I was seduced by the imaginative stories and writing. This collection of speculative fiction starts with the ordinary lives of people but soon becomes haunting, surreal and evocative. Even if you don't like all the stories, I think you will enjoy most of them. Definitely a book to reread at different stages of your life to appreciate them from a new perspective.

Thank you NetGalley and Astra Publishing House, Astra House for a copy of this ARC to review.

The stories that are sticking with me the most from this are the last story (Persimmons, about a sacrifice), and the second to last story, Natalya, which marries a love story with an autopsy of a corpse in a really fantastically woven story. This is the first I've heard from this author, and just from what I've seen here, I'm absolutely interested in what she does in the future.

I read sooooo many short stories. I’ve spent the last six years reading a short story (almost) every day, and I appreciate a truly original, gripping tale. Puloma Ghosh’s debut collection, Mouth, with its well-crafted, weird, female-centered stories, filled me with joy.

I was won over by the opening story, Desiccation, about a strange, shut-off town, where men go "missing" when they reach a certain age. There’s another odd town in Leaving Things, which has been overrun by wolves, but one woman insists on sticking around.

I loved Anomaly, where a woman goes on a date with someone to a weird wormhole thing. The theme of holes in the universe is continued in Lemon Boy, where a girl meets a boy with lemon-colored hair at a party, where he thinks he's seen his dead ex.

The final story, Persimmon, was probably my favorite. A girl prepares for her last day of freedom, before she is sacrificed to a tree.

There is such a wide variety of imagination on display here. All the stories in Mouth are truly original and exciting.

I'm absolutley here for the weird and wonderful - and this one definitely landed in that category! A disturbing collection of short stories and a brilliant debut! Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the EARC x

wow! puloma ghosh's debut book consists of eleven chilling stories that explore themes such as love, sexuality, grief and longing. i have had my eyes on this book for some time and had the honor of getting to read it earlier than its release date (june 11, 2024). each story had me in shock and sometimes really creeped out; my favorite being "the fig tree". really enjoyed the nuances of the characters in the stories and how much wonder this book had me feeling. if you're into horror and into tales with chilling twists this book is for you! i'm thinking of adding this one to my physical library

Finished this yesterday but was on a plane and exhausteddddd so never reviewed. These were really cool this second queer short story collection i’ve read this week but this was more fantastical and i actually really liked that. i’m normally not a fantasy person or short story person so it was a pleasant surprise. thought the story about the holes was the strongest but there were so many cool ideas explored here!

thank you to netgalley and astra for the arc!

Thank you NetGalley and AstraHouse Books for this eARC copy of Mouth, out June 11 2024

Mouth is a collection of 11 short stories featuring dystopian, sci-fi elements along with queer exploration & horror that leaves you hungry for more. Puloma Ghosh creates these small worlds where young women engage in their every dark desire, we meet a man haunted by his dead ex, couples traveling through rips in time and werewolves seeking out mothers.

Each story is such a unique experience and there were moments that truly shocked me but I was mesmerized from the start. Ghosh’s writing style has this gentle lull but underneath is a darkness I absolutely enjoyed exploring.

This was a really solid collection of stories! Very weird, often queer, and beautifully veering from literary into speculative fiction. I enjoyed reading these stories, my favorites being Lemon Boy, Persimmons, In the Winter, and Natalya. The descriptions in these stories really take you in using all five senses, especially (as the title suggests) taste. Highly recommend.

This short story collection portrays the various experiences of womanhood in raw and vulnerable ways. Ghosh does a lovely job of crafting diverse stories, characters, and character experiences, all while staying consistent with the theme of womanhood. Many of these stories take a deep dive into female friendships, romantic relationships, and family relationships.

The strongest stories are “Leaving Things”, “Lemon Boy”, and “Natalya”. In “Leaving Things”, a woman living in a dystopian small town finds a wolf who, before dying, gives birth to a half human half wolf boy. In “Lemon Boy” the protagonist searches for an anchor in her life and meets a boy at a party, Lemon Boy, who tells her about his ex and the holes she sees. “Natalya” depicts an intimate and vulnerable autopsy of an ex lover.

Ghosh’s collection is strong and succinct. One critique I can offer is the repetition of shedding skin or inhabiting a set of skin. Though, if the collection is examined from a feminist perspective, the inhabiting and shedding of skin certainly makes sense and offers a great critique of modern womanhood.

I’m keeping an eye out for more work from Puloma Ghosh after this. The curse of short story collections is how hit or miss they can be but there are strong elements I loved even in the stories I was less fond of. Would love to read a full novel by Ghosh in the future! Highly recommended for fans of “weird books for weird girls” booktok heads. 3.75 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Astra House for the e-ARC!

Ahhh this short story collection was so good! The stories in this collection were all very weird and visceral. It was plainly written, but it had a strong voice all throughout. My favorites from the collection are Desiccation, Nip, Natalya, and Persimmons. I found that each story differed greatly from one another, which made it very exciting to see what the author had come up with next.

Puloma Ghosh’s debut anthology featuring 11 short stories focusing on desire, sexuality and loneliness.

An incredible debut with some creepy and well-written stories, it’s hard to believe that this is the first book this author has published! There were plenty of different horror elements included such as body horror, creature features and ghost hauntings so there’s definitely something to cater for everyone!

The standout stories for me where:

Desiccation: 4/5⭐️ a teenage ice skater with necrophiliac tendencies believes that the only other Indian girl at the rink is a vampire - this contained an strange smut scene with some blood drinking 👀

Leaving Things: 4/5⭐️ a town has set a nightly curfew due to wolf attacks and a vet raises a half wolf half human being

K: 5/5⭐️ the ghost of a university student haunts the current student living in her dorm room - the new student discovers the truth behind her disappearance. i found this one to be the creepiest!

Natalya: 5/5⭐️ an autopsy report of an ex-lover - the pathologist examines each of the corpse’s body systems while reporting on their relationship history (TW: self-harm)

Thank you to netgalley and Astra Publishing House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Full rating: 4.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

In her debut collection of short stories, Puloma Ghosh invites readers into a labyrinth of visceral narratives that traverse realms of desire, transformation, and existential inquiry. Each story, a constellation of its own, beckons the reader to delve into its depths, where sapphic yearnings intertwine with surrealist landscapes and existential ponderings.

With "Dessication," Ghosh sets the stage for a journey into the depths of desire and disillusionment. Through the lens of a sapphic romance tinged with vampiric undertones, Ghosh explores themes of existential longing and the ephemeral nature of existence. The narrative brims with evocative prose, frenetic pacing, and atmospheric tension. In "Leaving Things," Ghosh invites readers to witness the process of rewilding—a metaphorical journey of feminine transformation and empowerment. Through the lens of environmental justice and personal growth, Ghosh crafts a narrative that is both introspective and illuminating. With "Anomaly," Ghosh ventures into the realm of temporal distortion and existential inquiry. Through the eyes of an enigmatic narrator, Ghosh navigates themes of identity and belonging with nuance and complexity.

What sets "Mouth" apart is its remarkable cohesiveness. Ghosh demonstrates a keen thematic focus, with recurring motifs and threads that bind the stories together seamlessly. It's a rare feat to find a short story collection that feels so unified in its exploration of diverse themes.

Overall, "Mouth" is a testament to Ghosh's talent and creativity. Her ability to blend sapphic narratives with elements of horror and surrealism is both mesmerizing and thought-provoking. As we emerge from the depths of "Mouth," it's impossible not to be moved by the kaleidoscope of emotions and experiences that Ghosh has crafted. Through stories that transcend genre and convention, Ghosh invites readers to confront the complexities of the human experience with empathy and introspection. “Mouth” is a testament to Ghosh's prowess as a storyteller and a provocateur of thought.

In conclusion, "Mouth" is a triumph—both a testament to Ghosh's prowess as a writer and a captivating exploration of humanity. With its evocative prose and haunting narratives, this collection leaves an indelible mark. Puloma Ghosh is undoubtedly a writer to watch, and "Mouth" is a compelling showcase of her talent and vision.

📖 Recommended For: Advocates for LGBTQ+ Representation, Feminist Readers, Seekers of Surreal and Provocative Narratives, Fans of Carmen Maria Machado's "Her Body and Other Parties."

🔑 Key Themes: Exploration of Desire and Disillusionment, Feminine Transformation and Empowerment, Existential Inquiry and Identity, Reflecting on the Human Experience.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Sexual content (moderate), death of a parent (severe), animal death (moderate), gore (moderate), cancer (minor), drug overdose (minor), drug use (minor), self harm (severe, especially in the story ‘Natalya’).

Mouth is a collection of eleven short stories that explore grief, sexuality and desire, bodily autonomy and the intimacy of humanity all while blurring the lines of reality.

It is very rare to find a short story collection that works as cohesively as Mouth does. It’s clear Puloma has themes she’s very interested in that appear in some way in every story. Death and disappearing are two themes that are heavily featured in this collection. Lemon Boy, Nip and Natalya all showcase the exploration of grieving someone in such a beautifully haunting and visceral way.

Another large theme within this collection is desire. There is a lot of yearning written in such visceral detail, and not all of it is sexual desire. A lot of deep animalistic desires are explored here as well. Giving into the beast inside you in the most horrific ways possible.

The title Mouth is so fitting for this collection. It’s wild it’s weird it’s absurd and I ate it UP! I would love to have a discussion with Puloma so I could see how her mind works. She is definitely a writer to watch.

Mouth is out June 10 2024. Thank you Astra House and Netgalley for this digital arc.

This is Puloma Ghosh’s debut collection of short stories. There are 11 unique and haunting tales all connected by some type of mouth reference. They touch on loss, loneliness, grief and heartbreak. Each story was an immersive experience! It was like having a fever dream each time and I totally gave myself to it. I really appreciate how Ghosh was able to highlight the human condition in fantastical, creepy, bizarre yet very compelling ways.

My favorite stories without giving too much away were: The Fig Tree which touched on grief, Leaving Things which includes a half wolf/half human baby and Persimmons that tells of the ultimate community sacrifice. If you like stories that challenge you and make you say “what did I just read?” then this collection is for you! I look forward to reading much more from this author!

This may be the best book of short stories I have ever read. So many of them felt like I could read a whole book of just that world/story

Every story was so unique with some lit fic, horror, and sci-fi

Would highly recommend for anyone who liked night bitch or my year of rest and relaxation

Short story collections are a hit or miss for me, but when they are building little dystopias or giving me a sense of unease I tend to love them. This one definitely fell into the hit category. Overall I found Ghosh’s approach to exploring hard topics really compelling. I also really appreciated the world building she accomplished in the short space. There are quite a few stories that I honestly didn’t want to part with and wished were full novels. As with most collections, some of the stories in this one resonated more with me than the others. My favorites from this collection were Desiccation and Leaving Things.

Thank you Astra House for the ARC!

Mouth is a collection of eleven weird and sometimes wonderful short stories. Many of them involve interactions between humans and animals and otherworldly occurrences. A young woman finds herself enamored by a fellow figure skater, who may or may not be human. Another goes to a party and meets a man with yellow hair who sees emerging holes in the world that already have taken his girlfriend. A physical and metaphorical autopsy of a previous girlfriend and their relationship are detailed. While short story collections are a mixed bag, this was rather strong, and a few stories in particular stood out. In Leaving Things, a woman is living in a town where most of the population, including her boyfriend have fled as wolves have taken over. On her way home, she encounters an interesting creature and brings it home to unexpected results. In Supergiant, we meet a popstar after her last performance. Why can she not touch anyone except her assistant? The world that Ghosh builds in Persimmons is fascinating and I wish it could have been expanded out further. For fans of weird and interesting short stories, I would recommend this collection.

Thank you to Astra House via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

I'm somewhat averse to short stories. They can be an endeavour to pick through shallow ponds and hope to find something worth your time. An author's particular flavour of storytelling permeates each story, whether the genre or the plot changes. That is to say, if I don't like how the author displays their craft in one story, I may not be able to consume the others wholly.

But this collection, Dude. I cannot believe this is a debut. Each story shifts between something lush and surreal to silent and haunting - pulses of cultural dynamics bleed into storylines that are often genre-bending. The ways their words lay across their stories are filled with so much talent. K and the Fig Tree were my standouts in this collection - eerie and chilling but filled with so much to stay. Ghosh speaks of displacement, lineage, and trauma in her stories, blurring the lines between reality and fiction, putting the uncanny into the visions of the everyday.

I highly highly recommend this one. This would be perfect if you're a fan of Mariana Enríquez and Bora Chung.

These stories were very interesting and cohesive, with repeating themes, however the formatting on this ebook was pretty distracting; it was a little bit of a challenge to know when each new story was starting and there were unfortunately quite a few typos.

These factors took away some of my enjoyment of the stories, but I still think this is a beautiful and haunting collection that focuses on loss, grief, and disappearing people and feelings. LEMON BOY was probably my favorite story, just wow. I would not be hesitant to pick this one up as a finished physical book, and I’m excited to see what this author does next! 3.5 stars rounded up.

5/5

These stories centered a lot around womanhood; relationships one has with their bodies, with other bodies, with no bodies; desire and grief, etc. Ghosh has a way of capturing the swing of panicked anxiety to calm acceptance. Lately, I have been feeling like the “unhinged female lit” books have been lacking (in the way that they could push it a little bit further but seem to always be stopping short), but Ghosh’s works did not disappoint.

This is my new favorite collection of short stories of all time. 6/11 of the stories were 4-star or above, with one even reaching 6-Star Status for me. Even the ones that I didn’t rate as highly were still good, just less my cup of tea if that makes sense. These stories can bring the ugliness of grief, peace of acceptance, horrors of humankind, and gentleness of animals all to the table to gorge ourselves sick.

I would be so insanely interested if she ever decided to make a full novel out of one or multiple of these short stories. I can’t wait to read more of her works in the future!

Desiccation: 5
The Fig Tree: 3
Leaving Things: 5
K: 4
In The Winter: 2
Anomaly: 3
Lemon Boy: 3
Supergiants: 6 – please make this a full-length novel!!!
Nip: 5
Natalya: 4
Persimmons: 3

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The perfect book for anyone who enjoys the topic of female rage.
These though provoking shorts really reminded me of why I love feminist art, this completely encapsulates what it feels like to be a woman and what that means.
Some very extreme and possibly triggering themes.

Mouth is an eclectic and mind bending collection of stories that looks at humanity and its interactions with paranormal/supernatural beings/events as they converge with reality. This is really just the bare surface of the stories. This collections goes far deeper into discussing themes of trying to find connection with anything, discovering what love actually means, and facing parts of ourselves that we hide deep down hoping no one will find if we don't let them close enough.

I thought this collect was so well done. Every story had its own voice and flavour. They were all very entertaining, yes I did like some more than others, but overall I thought this was a very powerful collection. I would highly recommend for anyone into horror/gore literature who is looking for some really fantastic short stories. I give Mouth all the stars!!

4.5/5

“I always felt like the odd one. I was sad often. Maybe this was because of my father or my mother, or the books I read or the songs I listened to, but for my whole adolescence, my insides squirmed. Threatened to pour restlessness out of my mouth and ears.”

Mouth is a collection of 11 surreal short stories. A debut collection, Puloma Ghosh uses speculative fiction to push her characters farther than traditional fiction would. Mouth explores grief, sexuality, loneliness, intimacy, and the aching desires of our flesh in a sharp and captivating way. Similar to the themes in Thirst, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, and Cursed Bunny - Mouth is a short story collection where I didn’t dislike any of the stories.

I wished some of the stories within this collection could have been more fleshed out, just because I could’ve read whole novels on most of them. Puloma Ghosh’s writing is unique and captivating. When I started a story, I couldn’t put it down. I read this as an ebook arc, so I don’t know the names of most of the stories I read, which is disappointing because I want to tell you which ones were my favorite, but I am definitely getting a physical copy of this book when it comes out. I feel like I could go back to any one of these stories over and over again without getting bored. It was a mix of literary fiction, horror, sci-fi, queerness, and surrealism which made the collection feel like a mixed bag of amazing weirdness that I couldn't get enough of, mesmerizing me from the very beginning.

“Was I lonely back then? Of course I was. Who wasn’t lonely ‘back then’. In the winter I’m pretty because the loneliness makes my face slack, my eyes intense. There are no stories without loneliness.”

Woo, this is a weird book! It revels in the strange, uncomfortable, sometimes squirmy feeling as the stories range from supernatural to fantasy to sometimes just a little creepy. The themes of loneliness and sexuality - especially for characters that are outsiders - are present and I think are woven in each of the stories. I can tell this is a debut because sometimes the sentences feel a bit unsure of themselves but generallly, I think this is a really strong debut and I would be very excited to read what this author produces next ! Definitely not a book that everyone will love or "get", but I think for those that do it will be a very special read.

Puloma Ghosh’s debut short story collection, Mouth, is a surreal, sapphic fever dream and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love how the author not only incorporates, but infuses culture and sexuality into every story. The content and premise of each story are also so unexpected and multifaceted that I felt as if they could be developed into full length novels themselves.

On the flip side of this, I often felt as if the stories were ended too abruptly, though that may be the point entirely. This is just personal preference, but the endings felt a little too abstract.

My favourite story by far is the short fiction told through an autopsy report with the narrator’s stream of consciousness and memories weaved in throughout. It was so clever and I can’t say any more without spoiling the text,.. just read it!

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of Mouth: Stories by Puloma Ghosh. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and are not influenced by any third parties.

Mouth" by Puloma Ghosh is a refreshingly unique anthology that kept me thoroughly entertained. What I loved most about this collection is how delightfully unhinged it is. Each story stands out with its own distinct flavor, yet Puloma skillfully weaves them together under the unifying theme suggested by the title.

I was constantly amused and impressed by how Puloma managed to keep the stories interesting and unique while still maintaining cohesion within the anthology. Her storytelling is both inventive and engaging, making for an absorbing read.

Setting aside a few minimal typos, I found this to be a well-written book. As this is an ARC, I was more understanding with the minor errors as they did little to detract from the overall quality and enjoyment of the stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and Astra House for this eARC.

This is my first exposure to Puloma Ghosh's writing, but I was captivated alone by the synopsis of the short story collection---and I was so glad I got a copy to read! I burned through this book easily, leaving me wanting more. This short story collection is deftly written, balancing the right amount of surrealism with themes of womanhood, relationships, grief, sexuality, and intimacy. I can't wait for Puloma's next book!

Powerful. Ghosh is a gifted writer. She captures the uncanny and the painfully real in the same story. My heart was breaking at the same time my mind was racing with the wonders of this text. She has a true gift. i can't wait to read more from this force-of-nature of a writer.

This short story collection is as lush, sensual and delicious in the way you'd expect from the title. Often focused on the mouth and all that comes with it (eating, kissing, sometimes both, teeth and tongue included), what I feel really unites these stories is the feeling of longing, of grief and of human (dis)connection. While not every story blew me away, there were many where the themes explored and the stilistic choices employed to do so really drew me in and I absolutely adored the variety of themes explored. My favorite short stories (you can read more in my short reviews of each short story) where Desiccation, K, Anomaly, Persimmons, stories that often feature an unsettling supernatural horror aspect as that is something that I found masterfully done in these short stories. The three stories I did not enjoy that much fell short due to lacking lenght or further detail which I think could have made them a lot more interesting (In the Winter & Lemon Boy) or because I do not feel like they explored a topic in a particularly interesting way (Leaving Things). But not every short story needs to be perfect for me to think that this is a really good short story collection. If you like your short stories messy, strange, horny, queer, scary and sometimes just plain heartbreaking (in various degrees) or you enjoy horror/sci-fi/apocalypse stories I can only suggest you pick this book up and delve in. Maybe peel an orange while you read and enjoy these tangy short stories.
4.5 star rating rounded up to 5 stars to appreciate how these stories are tied together.

Desiccation - A girl living in a strange war torn world with strange sexual desires meets a girl that might be a vampire (she looks dead and is strange and cold) - interesting, fucked up & fun, a really good beginning to this short story collection, particularly I feel for checking how you will vibe with these stories, if you like this one, keep reading, there's more good ones to come! tw necrophilia 5/5
The Fig Tree - grief as a haunting, about returning to a place that you havent been since childhood and starting to cope with loss, tw mention of physical domestic abuse, 4/5
Leaving Things - a small isolated Alaskan town besieged by wolves, spooky, weird mix of motherhood and animal sexuality but in a fun messy way, unfortunately nothing new in the genre of female werewolf stories besides the slightly unsavory twist on fucking the wolf boy you raised after he was born from his mother's carcass, I just feel this one could have gone darker and more fucked up and suffered from the dream like reality that many of these short stories employ, tw animal death, wolf cannibalism (in a way), weird sexuality re she does call herself a mother-like figure, 3/5
K - a perpetual liar investigates a haunting at her college, really hot, fucked up, messy, an absolute sapphic delight, tw body horror, death 5/5
In the Winter - a story about an encounter with a fellow student at a university and following him to his room, a bit too short and confusing for me to fully grasp what was going on, but i liked the writing style, 2/5
Anomaly - a world isolated by the ravages of a time war that made everybody distrust their fellow man, filled with constant survailance, in it a woman is griefing her ex girlfriend and agrees to go on a date with a guy who has a ticket to visit a titual anomaly, bittersweet, fascinating, heartbreaking, really worked incredibly well, especially with the writing style, 5/5
Lemon Boy - a random encounter at a party changes a woman's perspective on life when she starts noticing something after it's pointed out to her, haunting, but not really my style, I think this one could have been a lot better if it had been longer, 3/5
Supergiant - a story about giving up everything, even your own body for fame and what happens when your star fades, cool depersonalization body horror at its best, fun, but I think the terror of it could have been a bit more intense for me, 4/5 tw murder
Nip - a creature who only rarely manifest physically spends time with the woman she loves, unsettling end, loved it, 4/5
Natalya - the autopsie of a former lover, fun and stylistically veeery interesting 4/5 tw self harm
Persimmons - a tree blossoms and demands a sacrifice from a young woman living in the valley, very lyrical, fuuuuun !!!!, if you like folk horror, dig in! 5/5 tw sacrificial murder, gore, violence

3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

This was weird. Good weird, but not weird for weirdness sake.

Mouth: Stories is a debut collection of 11 speculative short stories. The stories are sapphic, bizarre and surreal.They explore themes of loneliness, desire, womanhood and grief. There are stories about vampires, werewolves and ghosts. With each monster we come across you feel a sense of belonging, as if you are leveling up to be your final form.

I appreciated the rawness and pointed depictions of things women experience that we may feel too ashamed to talk about.

I cannot blanket recommend this to everyone. There are some graphic depictions. If you enjoy the works of Marina Enriquez, Han Kang, or Ottessa Moshfegh, Puloma Ghosh will be right up your alley.


Thank you to Netgalley and Astra Publishing House for an advanced reader copy of Mouth.

Surprisingly, this collection MOUTH is the first time I've read Puloma Ghosh. I really enjoyed the anthology, in large part because I do not know what to expect when I started each story. That factor alone was a delight. Some stories took a slightly squeamish turn, others a wonderfully surreal mode. I'll be using a few of these short stories and recommending the full collection to my short story students this summer.

Thanks to NetGalley and Astra House for this eARC.

4.5 stars LOVED IT!!!

These stories are so weird and surreal. themes of womanhood, longing, grief, desire, loss and much more. Speculative fiction with elements of horror and sci fi. This also had some pretty great body horror that I loved.

Short stories are usually a hit or a miss for me, more often a miss because usually I'm left with more questions than answers and always wanting more since they are so short I'm left unsatisfied, they just almost always feel unfinished to me. Mouth by Puloma Ghosh did the complete opposite. This is by far the best and obviously my favourite collection of short stories I have ever read.

There are a total of 11 short stories:
1. Desiccation - 5 stars
2. the fig tree - 4 stars
3. Leaving things - 5 stars
4. K - 4 stars
5. In The Winter - ??? I didn't really understand this one.
6. Anomaly - 4 stars
7. Lemon Boy - 4 stars
8. Supergiant - 5 stars
9.Nip - ??? this one went over my head too, I was really into it while reading but I was stull left super confused at the end.
10. Natalya - 3.5 stars
11. Persimmons - 5 stars

If I had to pick a favourite I would have to say Supergiant for sure, the body horror in this was *chefs kiss* and then Persimmons was a close second place.

Puloma Ghosh is an incredibly talented author, I simply cant wait to read more in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Astra Publishing house for sharing a digital copy. As always, opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Do you want a short story collection that has a few early misses and then is hit after hit? Do you like your collections with some fuckin range? If you like sci-fi, bittersweet romances, dystopian fairytales, or character studies, there's something juicy for you here.

Pre-reading:
That cover is pornographic and I love it. I usually dig short story collections.

Thick of it:
(For the sake of my sanity, I have labeled the stories as I give commentary on them and I’m gonna put my little summary of what they were after I give the review. So like this is your spoiler warning.)

~Dessication

I have weirdly always loved this word.

This is reading like gay panic. (That is intentional.)

Why is everyone writing about children masturbating this year? Stop. Please god, stop.

Gender dystopians always intrigue me.

I hate reading about children’s sex lives. I hate it. (Zero reason these kiddos couldn’t have been older.)

I love how girlies are always like I love this. I want it to kill me. I want it to consume me.

Say it. Out loud.

Huh. Well, how are you just gonna leave me like that? Give me a whole book. 3/5

Girlypop is a figure skater who is convinced that that motherfucker, her skating rival, is not real. But girlypop also lives in a dystopian society where every man is drafted to fight in a war as soon as he turns 17. What war? I'm so glad you asked. That's REDACTED. The government won't tell them anything about why or what they're fighting or where the men go, but don’t worry too much about that gaping plot hole because this is a short story and we don’t have the word count to get those answers.

Girlypop’s mom is in charge of enforcing the draft and hunting down deserters so the town does not like her. Their neighbor, Gabriel, who Girlypop used to fool around with, just turned 17 and he ran away from home to dodge the draft. Her mom is supposed to find him.

But Girlypop’s too busy competing to worry about her situationship. At the last meet, her rival, Pritha, looked at her funny while Girlypop was executing a jump, so she’s convinced that the other girl used her psychic powers to make her fall. The ice rink gets infested with rats, but Girlypop catches Pritha hunting and eating them. She also has a weird scar on her neck, and when Girlypop asks her about it, Pritha says she was bitten by a tiger. This should be impossible however because tigers have gone extinct. And Girlypop is like cool, cool, cool call me Tiger, baby. And she bites Pritha’s neck and it’s all much more gay and lusty than it should be for highschoolers.

Then the girls go to the supermarket together because where else would unattended minors go, and Pritha remarks on how she remembers the markets being different where she’s from. And Girlypop is like cryptid confirmed. Girlypop gets her period and the two little lesbos go fuck on the ice Maeve Fly style, and Pritha pulls a Saltburn. And girlypop is like you’re ice cold and impossibly fast. And Pritha’s like say it. Out loud. And girlypop is like you’re a vampire. And Pritha’s like lol no, I am literally just a girl.

But then Pritha’s coach’s dead body turns up, drained of blood, and Pritha and Girlypop’s mom go missing. The town realizes the government redacted mommy since she refused to turn in Gabriel. P just fucked off to who knows where.

And then inexplicably it’s many years later and the government has offered Girlypop her mom’s old job. I guess if you can perform a triple lutz, you can hunt down Joe Schmoe. And girlypop is like forget Joe, I’m gonna misuse my new authority and clearance levels to look for my mom. The end. And if you’re like huh? Girl, me too.
——————————————
~fig

This is well written.

Lit fic loves piss sin

This was really well done, but it’s a magical realism piece, and that’s just not really my genre. It was too short for me to get that invested. 3/5

When girlypop goes back to her hometown after her mom dies, she starts seeing her ghost. She really wants to visit her grandmother’s old house which is where her mom grew up, but the extended family doesn’t want her to. They think the place is bad luck because there’s a tree in the yard that’s fed by the city’s polluted runoff. They assume the tree is contaminated and could infect them if they touch it, but they won’t cut it down because they think there’s a spirit trapped inside of it. But girlypop is stubborn and eventually wears her family down so they allow her to visit before she returns home to America. She visits the tree and talks to the spirit inside of it. The spirit transforms her traditional wedding bracelet’s gems into her dead mom’s bones so that she can always carry a piece of her with her. The end.
—————
~Leaving

This is gonna be Romulus and Remus

Again, really good. Would’ve taken a whole book about it. It’s just too short to really be anything more than 3/5.

In another dystopian world, a city is besieged by wolves that attack supply lines and murder people who stay out after curfew, so all the civilians have slowly been moving away. And if you’re like cars and guns exist, how are we not calling animal control and moving on, mind your business. Girlypop used to work as a vet, but she’s out of work now and desperate to not move back home and in with her mom after her boyfriend dumped her. On the way home from the supermarket, she sees a pregnant wolf in the alley and she’s like hoo baby, my time to shine. So she takes the violent doggo home where it dies. And the audience is like I see why she’s out of work. And girlypop is like if I couldn’t save mom, maybe I can at least save baby. But before she can cut the wolf open in an emergency c-section, the baby claws its way out of its mother Renesme style. It’s a baby mostly boy. And then he takes after his Twilight namesake and rapidly ages as girlypop butchers and feeds his mother to him. Eventually, he’s a full-ass adult man. And girlypop is like wow, what a hunk, and we’re not related so…help me stepson, I’m stuck! And the audience is like lol ew. As punishment for her crimes against humanity, like does this count as bestiality? Girlypop gets that sweet, sweet werewolfussy STD. She’s starting to transform into a wolf and losing her capabilities for higher thought. He feeds his new mom his old mom until she’s a total Nightbitch. And she’s like wow, at least I won’t have to leave my beloved city now. The end!
—————
~K

“Chewable black” for nighttime is gorgeous.

I wanna be inside your skin.

Again, I just need more. It’s weird and visual and horny but like give me a full story. 3/5.

Girlypop lives in a dorm haunted by an old photography student named K, and although she’s never gotten a good look, she becomes convinced that K is identical to the imaginary friend she had growing up. To confirm these suspicions she seeks out the photography professor and asks to develop K’s old film. I guess they just have MIA students’ selfies kicking around for civilians and not the police to borrow. When she processes the photos, Girlypop realizes they are all of the campus groundskeeper and shot so tenderly, K must’ve been in love with her. And she’s like haha gay! Also, wow we’re such PTSD twinsies. K had an inappropriate relationship with a school employee and so did I! When I was a middle schooler, my parents made me see a counselor because I was a compulsive liar. He sucked my fingies. Wow, I feel so close to her now, so like K and I are def in love. I should confront my love rival about this. So she goes to see the groundskeeper and is like hey girl, hey! What happened to K? And the groundskeeper is like I’m some sort of faerie toad creature, and K said she wanted to be inside my skin. I took that literally. And girlypop is like wow, same. And the groundskeeper is like I can arrange that. So girlypop is devoured by the groundskeeper and the ghostly K and she’s like wow, I’m just like other girls. The feminine love to consumption pipeline truly is something else. The end!
—————
~Winter

My Dark Vanessa

4/5 That was really good. Bordering on a five honestly. And they probably know it’s the start of something good because it’s the middle story and on the cover.

Girlypop’s teacher convinces her to come to his house to get a book and then makes her cum. And Girlypop’s like wow, that was rape and I’ll have to carry this with me forever, but I can fill my life up with other experiences until the memory is less loud.
—————
~Anomaly

They’re all vaguely Covid commentary.

How Orpheus and Eurydice.

5/5 fuckin pretty.

Girlypop decides to get back on Tinder because it’s been years since her last relationship, and like it’s probably time. Speaking of time, this is another dystopian society where time agents have come back from the future to try and preserve the past because there’s an impending war. If you thought we were politically fucked in ‘24, imagine when time travel is on the ballet. Except don’t think about it too much because it’s really just for vibes since this is a short story and say it with me, we don’t have the word count to get those answers. Because of the time hopping, rifts have opened in the world. Obviously, capitalism has monetized this so now they’re tourist attractions. Risk life and limb and walk through the fabric of reality on a Tuesday, and don’t forget to pose for Insta at the end. Girlypop’s Tinder date has tickets. And she’s like is examining the nature of the universe too heavy for a first date? Aw, whatever. He’s paying. And he’s like thanks for coming with me. I was supposed to go with my ex because going through the rift was her dream, but after we broke up, I figured I’d keep the tickets out of spite. And girlypop is like wow you’re a real catch. You know what, fuck this. I don’t want to try and put myself out there to be close to someone’s son. I’m going in alone. This is very dangerous because you’re supposed to use the buddy system when reality swimming so that someone else can anchor you to the real world and you can find your way back.

Inside the rift, girlypop is hiking a mountain trail that she recognizes from one of her trips with her ex-girlfriend. And she’s like oh no, I’m remembering something mundane as special. I must’ve really loved her. And her ex is like lol, you rang? And girlypop is like fuck off, no I didn’t. I’m happy alone. She remembers how they dated in college, but her ex got a cancer diagnosis. Rather than let Girlypop watch her wither away, her ex broke up with her so she could say goodbye on her own terms. She died a few years later. So Girlypop ignores her ex girlfriend and hikes the trail, and her ex is like that’s good. Don’t look behind you. And it’s all very Orpheus and Eurydice. As she reaches the end of the trail, Girlypop breaks down and admits that she doesn’t want to be alone. And her ex is like that may be, but you still can’t see me again. And Girlypop is like fuck THAT. I ended things your way once already, I’ll be damned if I do it again. So as she climbs through the rift’s exit, she looks back to see her girlfriend and instead looks death in the eye. Then she’s back in the real world, the same but different.
—————
~Lemon

A local!

I want a bittersweet romance full-length novel from this author so bad.

I think it’s about being suicidal but who knows?

4/5 gorgeous visuals and trippy, but a little hard to understand.

Girlypop goes to a house party and meets a lemon-haired boy who is having a bad time because he thinks he’s seeing his dead ex-girlfriend at the party. His ex used to see holes in the universe, and he lied and said he could see them too because he wanted a manic pixie dream girl. But after she dies, he starts seeing them too. Girlypop is like wow, he looks lonely. I can fix that. So at the party, they go into the basement and find a hole in the wall. Lemon boy decides to crawl through and vanishes. Girlypop doesn’t go but she’s scared that she wanted to. Is it suicidal ideation who knows? The end!
—————
~Supergiant

Is this Taylor Swift lol?

What a fun Black Mirror episode. Robo pop star.

I’m you with nothing inside. Oh man and her name is Less. God, how heartbreaking.

That was great. So sad. 5/5

Girlypop is a popstar who sacrificed her face and body to get a perfect robotic one. Unfortunately, the skin is starting to degrade so it’s time for her to retire so that she’ll be remembered in her prime. She’s in love with her makeup artist, a girl named Less, who helps her put the robo skins on. After her show, Girlypop puts on her civilian skin and they wander the city for one last hurrah. Girlypop tries to get Less to open up to her about her life, but she won’t. She’s always just asked about Girlypop and mirrored back her personality. And Girlypop is like wow, this is pointless. My body is dying. My girl won’t talk to me. If I’m going out, I’m going out with a bang. So she removes her skin and starts sneaking up on and scaring civilians. She’s like let them remember me as a monster if it means they’ll remember me. As the night concludes, she finds Less sitting by the city’s fountain. Less examines her and tells girlypop that she’s full of rainwater. Her circuitry can’t handle that, so she’s going to die for real now. And girlypop is like that’s fine. I was never really alive to begin with. But before I go, I’ve gotta tell you that I love you, Less. And Less is like damn, that’s sad. And girlypop is like why? And Less is like I’m your original body, just without your soul. I’m what you gave up for stardom because I wasn’t good enough. I’m Less. And the audience is like damn, that’s deep. And the author’s like lol that’s word count, the end!
—————
~Nip

Oh, she understands Mass.

This is gorgeous and flirty and heady.

The hazard orange of Buffalo wings should not be as gorgeous a phrase as it is.

5. absolutely 5.

The personification of a nip in love with its owner. The owner meets a boy at a bar and the nip dies because she’s ready to move on from her addiction.
—————
~Natalya

dyspnea

This is so gorgeous and sad.

Love the citrus callback

5 absolutely 5 again!

Girlypop works in a morgue and one day her childhood love comes in dead and she remembers how she used to cut herself.
—————
~Persimmons

Alright, baby, finish strong. Bring your girl home.

I know it’s supposed to be cutesy fairytale, but that is literally a form of rape and I hate it here.

2/5 fairytale but like a bad ending to the rest of the stories.

Girlypop lives on an alien planet settled by humans. A persimmon tree was the only thing growing on it, and when humans came to explore the planet, it offered them a deal that it would make the whole planet fertile as long as the family line that made the deal with the tree did not eat fruit and would sacrifice some of its offspring to feed the tree. They agreed and now girlypop, Uma, is the last of her line. Since making the deal, the persimmon tree has been the only dead plant on the planet, but one day it spontaneously blooms. The people are like welp, that’s it. The world is ending. Time to sacrifice Uma. She’s never been close with her mother, and she’s like hey mom, now that I’m literally about to die can you spare a scrap of love for me? And her mom’s like fuck it. And girlypop is like wow, gee thanks. And her mom’s like no, fuck it. And girlypop’s like ohhhh. So she eats a piece of fruit, breaking the deal with the tree, so when the people sacrifice her to the tree, the world still ends. The end!

Post-reading:
Look, not all short stories can be winners, but the ones that are…It’s hit after hit. This collection is full of gorgeous visuals and bittersweet romances. There’s such range to these stories.

They’re a fun mix of Covid commentary and sci-fi and fairytale and horror. It’s really just a mishmash of themes. I’d love to see a few of these stories blown up into full-length novels. They’re that strong.

I think the last story is the weakest in the bunch. I really dislike when books end on a bad note. It sours your lasting impression of the book. I don’t know how cohesive the stories feel as a collection. Sure, there’s a few citrus callbacks and running themes, but they do feel like firmly independent works. I don’t mind that sense of whiplash from collections, but I know it bothers a lot of people.

That being said, I will definitely be picking this author up again. If you like any of the short story collections I listed as similar below, I really think there’s something here for you and you should give it a read.

Who should read this:
Short story fans
Bittersweet love story fans
Imagery fans

Do I want to reread this:
Yes.

Similar books:
* Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado-angry sad girl short stories, experimental, fairytale vibes, the fuckin’ range this author is capable of
* In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado-experimental lit fic, bittersweet love story, the fuckin’ range this author is capable of
* How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu-Sci-Fi short stories, covid commentary, the fuckin’ range this author is capable of
* Games and Rituals by Katherine Heiny-angry sad girl short stories, character studies
* You Have a Friend in 10A by Maggie Shipstead-feminist short stories, the fuckin’ range this author is capable of
* Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link-short stories, fairytale vibes
* Greatest Hits by Harlan Ellison-sci Fi short stories, character studies, fairytale vibes, the fuckin’ range this author is capable of
* Bad Thoughts by Nada Alic-depressed short stories